CAN I WATCH ON THE WATER?<\/strong> Boaters can typically watch the show from Lake Michigan, in the “Playpen” or out on the lake as long as they avoid the show’s restricted zone. That zone is typically delineated by orange “Do Not Enter” buoys and patrolled by the Coast Guard, CPD and CFD.<\/p>\nFULL LINEUP OF PERFORMERS<\/p>\n
Headliners include the iconic U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights this year.<\/p>\n
Featured military performers include:
– U.S Air Force C-17 Demo – 15th Airlift Squadron<\/p>\n
– Illinois Air National Guard KC-135 – 126th Air Refueling Wing<\/p>\n
– U.S Coast Guard Search & Rescue Demo<\/p>\n
– F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team<\/p>\n
– USMC F-35B Lightning II Demonstration Team<\/p>\n
-Four F-16s, including: Arizona Air National Guard’s 162 Fighter Wing and 152nd Fighter Squadron.<\/p>\n
Civilian stunt performers include:
– Coleman Aerosports – Kevin Coleman<\/p>\n
– Super Stearman “Big Red” – Susan Dacy<\/p>\n
– Folds of Honor Biplane – Ed Hamill<\/p>\n
– Trojan Phlyers Flight Demonstration Team<\/p>\n
– Chicago Police Department Helicopters<\/p>\n
– Chicago Fire Department Air \/ Sea Rescue<\/p>\n
WHAT SHOULD I BRING?<\/p>\n
FOOD AND DRINK<\/strong>: Food vendors are located up and down the lakefront.<\/p>\nAttendees are welcome to bring personal coolers with water and ice, as well as their own food and drink. Bags and coolers will be subject to search.<\/p>\n
AMENITIES<\/strong>: Restroom facilities are available in the North Avenue Beach House. There are also port-a-pottys throughout the beach area.<\/p>\nA first aid tent is typically located in the parking lot west of the North Avenue Beach House. A lost child tent typically located in the center of the LaSalle Street turnaround.<\/p>\n
Free cooling stations are typically set up at the entrance to North Avenue Beach.<\/p>\n
OTHER<\/strong>: Portable radios\/listening devices, hats, binoculars, chairs, sunscreen and earplugs are all allowed and encouraged. Parents are especially encouraged to bring sunscreen and earplugs for children.<\/p>\nPROHIBITED ITEMS<\/p>\n
Normal beach security rules apply during the Chicago Air and Water Show. As such, the following items are prohibited:
<\/p>\n
BBQ grills (open flames)<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
Drones (personal or commercial)<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
Alcohol<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
Fireworks or explosives<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
Illegal substances<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
Weapons<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
Pop-up tents or canopies<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
All flying objects such as helium balloons or kites <\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
Flag poles<\/li>\n
<\/p>\n
All pets, excluding service animals<\/li>\nCopyright \u00a9 2026 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO (WLS) — The 2026 Chicago Air and Water show will be held along the lakefront on August…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":991204,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5124],"tags":[397420,397408,397413,397418,397411,960,12910,397407,397417,5386,1818,397409,397419,85973,397410,86964,397416,397412,397414,397415],"class_list":["post-991203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago","tag-397420","tag-2026-air-and-water-show","tag-2026-chicago-air-and-water-show","tag-air-water-show-cihcago","tag-army-golden-knights","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-air-and-water-show","tag-chicago-air-water-show","tag-f16","tag-il","tag-illinois","tag-jets-flying-over-chicago-today","tag-the-air-and-water-show","tag-thunderbirds","tag-thunderbirds-air-show","tag-water-and-air-show-chicago","tag-when-is-the-air-and-water-show","tag-when-is-the-air-and-water-show-in-chicago","tag-when-is-the-chicago-air-and-water-show","tag-where-to-watch-air-and-water-show"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/991203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=991203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/991203\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/991204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=991203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=991203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=991203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}